Our Presenters 2020-2021

Helen David Brancato, IHM is a  painter, printmaker and illustrator whose work carries themes of justice, peace and homelessness.

Sharon Browning is currently working on the JUST Listening Project, fostering social and personal change and transformation through just and effective communication.

Marie Michele Donnelly, RSM is a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. She has extensive experience offering preached retreats to parishes, school faculties, ministry groups, ecumenical groups and religious communities.

Mary Pat Garvin, RSM is a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Mary Pat ministered for twenty years with national and international conferences of religious, as well as with over 50 religious congregations throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Scott Hutchinson has been a pastor in the United Church of Christ for 29 years. In addition to the thrill of proclaiming the gospel and the privilege of pastoral care, he loves to teach and learn the ways of forgiveness and peace-building.

Cathy Maguire RSM, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, has over 20 years of experience in non-profit management, as well as program development and delivery.

Mary Anne Nolan, RSM is a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Her most recent ministry has been as Co-Director of Mercy Spiritual Ministries, a mobile ministry of the Sisters of Mercy.

Maureen H. O’Connell is chair the Department of Religion at LaSalle University where she is also an associate professor of Christian Ethics.

In a nutshell, I paint, write, and tell stories- and then travel all over the place telling the stories behind what I paint and write.

Aronda Smith-Benson is an honorably discharged Army veteran, founder and president of the Women Veteran Command Center and owner of Aronda Enterprises LLC, an executive coaching and consulting firm.

Wini Wolff is an organizational consultant, group facilitator and personal coach, with an MBA in international economic development and an MA in theology.

Ruth Picozzi has led historic tours of Cranaleith, and has a strong interest in the local roots of the Women's Suffrage Movement.

Ellen Murray, RSM‘s area of research is focused on Christian spirituality and medieval women mystics with particular attention to Catherine of Siena.

Phyllis Strock is a practitioner of sound healing. Using Tibetan and crystal bowls, chant, and sound, she leads people to inner peace and discovery.

Audrey Garrett is an artist who practices meditation. She seeks to explore and encourage our connections to nature and to each other through sound meditation, movement, and visual art.

LaVerne King, RSM’s teaching and administration career has taken her to schools in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida and Delaware.

Kathleen McAlpin, RSM, has served as a spiritual director and retreat director for more than 30 years.

Joyce Hadley is a board member of the Bucks County Human Relations Council and is currently an Associate of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (ASBS), the religious order founded by St. Katharine Drexel.

Sister Mary Trainer, RSM, is the founding director of Cranaleith Spiritual Center.

Suzanne Neisser, RSM, began North Philadelphia Spiritual Ministries out of her longstanding commitment to the spiritual growth of women in North Philadelphia.

David O. Maddox II has served as an ordained minister within the Lutheran tradition for fifteen years.

Ruth Bolarte is a member of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Immaculata, PA.

The Reverend Ada Renée Williams, is the Director of the Office of  Anti-Racism and Racial Equity of the Sisters of...

Sara Brabec is Catholic secondary school educator living and working in Sacramento, California. Born and raised in suburban Chicago, she...

Kathleen Sprows Commings is a Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Notre Dame...

Danny L. Thomas, Executive Director of The Peace Center, Inc., is professionally trained in conflict management skills.

Megan Brown, RSM, D. Min., is a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. She holds a Bachelor’s...

Valerie Lee-Jeter is a native Philadelphian and forty-year member of St. Vincent De Paul Parish where she is also the...

Michelle Sherman is the Campus Minister for Retreats at Villanova University. Since 2008, she has served in pastoral ministries in...

Christine Marie Eberle is the author of Finding God in Ordinary Time.  In 2019, she stepped down as Director of Campus Ministry at...

Author and storyteller, Sister of Mercy Joy Clough offers imaginative stories that present listeners with fresh insights into familiar scriptural scenes. Her hope is...

Tim Simmons is a former Mercy Volunteer, a Mercy Associate and a music teacher at Delaware Valley Friends School in Paoli, PA.